Apparatus for loading and unloading printing machines

ABSTRACT

This invention provides an apparatus for loading, unloading and turning over from one side to another, a stack of paper for printing machines and the like. The apparatus comprises a movable horizontal base, a support rod mounted on the base and extending vertically upward therefrom, the rod having a sleeve slidably mounted thereon, a turning head rotatably connected to the sleeve of the support rod, the turning head being arranged to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise, a rack connected to the turning head, the rack being arranged to securely hold a stack of paper and to rotate in the same manner as the turning head, means for raising and lowering the rack and for compressing the stack of paper held by the rack, and locking means arranged to allow the rack to rotate and to hold the rack stationary before and after being rotated.

United States Patent Edwards APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADINGPRINTING MACHINES [76] Inventor: James D. Edwards, 1 16 S. Highway 65,Dumas, Ark. 71639 22 Filed: on. s, 1971 211 App]. No.: 187,619

Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-George F. AbrahamAtt0rneyCarlton Hill, Benjamin H. Sherman and .1. Arthur Gross et a1.

[ June 12, 1973 [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention provides an apparatus forloading, unloading and turning over from one side to another, a stack ofpaper for printing machines and the like. The apparatus comprises amovable horizontal base, a support rod mounted on the base and extendingvertically upward therefrom, the rod having a sleeve slidably mountedthereon, a turning head rotatably connected to the sleeve of the supportrod, the turning head being arranged to rotate clockwise andcounterclockwise, a rack connected to the turning head, the rack beingarranged to securely hold a stack of paper and to rotate in the samemanner as the turning head, means for raising and lowering the rack andfor compressing the stack of paper held by the rack, and locking meansarranged to allow the rack to rotate and to hold the rack stationarybefore and after being rotated.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing; Figures APPARATUS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADINGPRINTING MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is relatedto an apparatus for loading, unloading and for turning over from oneside to another, a stack of paper for printing machines and the like.More particularly, this invention is related to an apparatus for turningover a stack of paper from one side to another without handling thepaper by hand.

There are various methods and apparatus for loading and unloadingprinting machines and the like. These methods and apparatus rangeanywhere from the actual handling of the stack of paper in every stepfrom the initial loading of a printing machine to the removal of thepaper printed on both sides from the delivery end of the machine and thebinding of the printed sheets of paper. With the paper being printed onboth sides, it is necessary to turn the stack of paper over from oneside to another and place it once again in the loading end of theprinting machine and having it processed to the exit or delivery endfrom where it is removed and bound.

Generally, in the process of printing, there are about six times a stackof paper is handled from the time of initially loading it into theprinting machine to when the sheets printed on both sides are removedfrom the delivery end of the machine and folded for binding. There areseveral apparatus that have been developed whereby the handling of thepaper is reduced and greater quantities of paper may be handled to beprinted. However, in most of these apparatus, in order to print on bothsides of the sheets of paper, the paper has to be turned over from oneside to another by hand. This necessitates not only an extra step butalso makes the process more difficult in accurately turning over thepaper from one side to another as well as more troublesome in thepossibility of misarranging the sheets of paper and of marking thesurfaces thereof.

There is a need for inexpensive apparatus for efficiently loading,unloading and turning over from one side to another a stack of paper tobe printed, without the need of repeated handling by hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have, accordingly, developed an improvedapparatus for loading, unloading and turning over a stack of paper fromone side to another in conjunction with printing machines and the like.The apparatus comprises a movable horizontal base, a support rod mountedon the base and extending vertically upward therefrom, the support rodhaving a sleeve slidably mounted thereon and arranged to move verticallyupward and downward on the rod, a turning head rotatably attached to thesleeve mounted on the rod, the turning head being arranged to movevertically in the same manner as the sleeve and to rotate clockwise andcounterclockwise, a rack connected to the turning head, the track beingadapted to rotate with the turning head and arranged to securely hold astack of paper, means for raising and lowering the sleeve and rack andfor compressing the stack of paper held by the rack, and locking meansarranged to allow the rack to rotate and to hold the rack stationarybefore and after being rotated.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention toprovide an apparatus for loading, unloading and turning over a stack ofpaper from one side to another for printing machines and the likewithout having to repeatedly handle the stack of paper by hand.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will bereadily apparent from the following description of the preferredembodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, although variations and modifications may be effected withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of thedisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view ofan apparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus illustrated in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line IVIV in FIG. 2, illustrating the paperrack of the present apparatus; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the sleeve mounted on the support rod ofthe apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, illustrating the turning head ofthe present apparatus in its relation to the paper rack shown in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring initially to FIGS. 1and 2, an apparatus embodying the present invention is shown. Theapparatus, generally indicated at 10, includes a wheel mounted base 12on which is mounted a support and guide rod 14. The support and guiderod 14 is mounted on the base by means of a flange 11, and extendsvertically upward from the horizontal base 12. The horizontal base 12 ismovably mounted on two sets of wheels 13 and 15 mounted on the bottom ofthe base 12. A handle 17 mounted at one end of the base and extendingvertically in parallel relation to the main support and guide rod 14 isprovided to accommodate movement of the base along the floor by hand.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sleeve 19 is slidably mounted on the support rod14. The sleeve 19 is arranged to be moved vertically upward and downwardon the support and guide rod by means of a hydraulic jack 58 mounted bymeans of a flange 21 on the base 12 and extending in parallel relationwith respect to to the support and guide rod 14. The hydraulic jack 58has connection with the sleeve 19 to raise and lower said sleeve alongthe support and guide rod 14 by a releasable coupling 60 on said jackand a stud 25 extending from a housing 61 on the sleeve 19 and engagingsaid coupling. Accordingly, by compressing the jack handle 59, thesleeve is caused to be lifted upward and when the pressure is releasedat the jack, the sleeve can be lowered and descend down the rod 14.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, and shown in detail in FIG. 5, a head 16 forthe housing 61 forms a bearing support for a rack 18. The rack 18 isarranged to rotate 360, both clockwise and counterclockwise. The paperrack 18 is connected to the turning head 16 by means of a bolt 20extending from within the head 16 through a main plate 26 of the rack18.

As specifically shown in FIG. 4, the paper rack 18 includes parallelspaced rack portions 22 and 24. The rack portion 24 is connected to themain rack plate 26 by means of a pair of compression couplings orclamping collars 27 and 28 slidably extending about vertical parallelspaced bars 30 of the rack 24 and adapted to be clamped thereto. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the

rack 22 includes parallel spaced vertically extending bars 32, spacedinwardly of the bars 30 of the rack 24 and in alignment therewith. Aplate 26, turnable about the axis of a bolt 20 and suitably securedthereto, forms a support for the bars 32, which may be welded orotherwise secured thereto (FIG. 4). Both the rack portions 22 and 24include parallel cross bars 34 and 36 on which the respective bars 32and 30 are mounted. Lifting forks 38 and 39 extend from opposite ends ofthe respective cross bars 34 and 36 perpendicular thereto and are weldedor otherwise secured thereto. The lifting forks 38 and 39 extendhorizontally outwardly from the respective cross bars 34 and 36 tosupport and compress a stack of paper therebetween and are adapted tomove toward and away from each other to compress the stack of paper andto release and accommodate removal of the stack of paper held betweensaid forks.

Mounted on the top of the primary guide rod 14 is a pivoted rack stop 42which is arranged to rotate 90 about a vertical axis to the left or theright of the center of the apparatus and guide rod 14. When the rackstop 42 is pivoted forward, away from the guide rod 14 toward the frontof the apparatus 10, it limits the height or upper level, to which therack portion 22 can be raised the rack portion 24 when said rack portionis in an uppermost position to compress the stack of paper between theforks 38 and 39.

The rack 18 is lifted and lowered by means of the hydraulic jack 58which is connected with the sleeve 19 through the coupling 60 and thestud 25. The rack 18 is carried by said sleeve on a head 16 for housing61 and the bolt 20 (FIG. 5). With this arrangement, the

rack and the forks 38 and forks 39 are raised when the jack iscompressed, and lowered when the pressure is released at the jack. Thecompression couplings 27 and 28, which may be in the form of clampsextending about the bars 30 of the rack portion 24 are welded orotherwise secured to opposite ends of the plate 26 and are arranged tobe loosened and tightened as desired to accommodate movement of the bars30 along said coupling and to retain said bars in fixed relation withrespect thereto. The coupling clamps 27, 28 are loosened to allow therack portion 22 to descend when desired, e.g. onto a stack of paperplaced in the rack inbetween the forks as the sleeve 19 is lowered alongthe support and guide 14 and the forks 39 are resting on a fixed supportsuch as the base 12. When the papers are to be held securely between theforks, the coupling clamps 27 and 28 are tightened.

Slidably mounted on the jacks 58 is an adjustment clamp 60 which isconnected to the sleeve 19 by the housing 61 extending about and securedto the sleeve 19 and the stud 25 extending from said housing. The clamp60 may be loosened and tightened to adjust and hold the sleeve 19 inplace on the support rod 14. A stop 62 which may be a closure for thepiston rod end of the jack 58 is provided on the jack 58 to limit thelower level to which the adjustment clamp 60 can be moved.

As shown in FIGS. l-3, an alignment rod 40 is provided and is mounted bymeans of a flange 41 on the base 12 in a parallel relation to the mainsupport rod 14. A sleeve 44 is slidably mounted on the alignment rod 40and is connected with a plate 63 connected to the housing 61 surroundingthe sleeve 19, as shown in FIG. 5. With this arrangement, the alignmentrod 40 assists in guiding the sleeve vertically and the load lifted andlowered by the paper rack 18.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown the relationship of the sleeve 19slidably mounted on the support rod 14, the turning head and paper rack18. The head 16 is abutted by an antifriction bearing 65 rotatablyconnected by an arrangement of bearings 65, to the interior of thehousing 61 surrounding the sleeve 19. The paper rack is connected to theturning head by means of the bolt 20 extending from within the flangebearing and bolted to the main plate 26 of the rack 18.

A spring-loaded locking pin 50 is provided to hold the rack 18stationary. As shown, the locking pin 50 is slidably mounted andconnected to the bracket 61 surrounding the sleeve 19. The locking pin50, in its normal position, extends within one of the locking holes 54or 56, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. A chain 52 is provided to pull thelocking pin 50 out of the holes when it is desired to rotate the rack18, and then the pull on the chain is released to enter the opposinglocking hole, e.g. removing the pin from the hole 54 to engage the hole56.

The present apparatus may be used in conjunction with various types ofprinting machines. A typical machine it has been effectively used withis a Multilith Offset, Model l850, manufactured by the Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio.

In the operation of the present apparatus for loading, unloading andturning over a stack of paper for a Multilith Model 1850 or similarmachine, initially, the apparatus 10 with a stack of paper securely heldin the rack 18 and the rack raised sufficiently, is wheeled into theloading magazine of the machine with the rack above the elevator. Then,the coupling clamps 27, 28 are loosened to allow the forks 38 to belifted above the stack of paper. With the forks raised, the elevator ofthe printing apparatus is then raised to lift the stack from the forks39 of the rack 18. Then, with the stack of paper lifted slightly abovethe forks, the apparatus is pulled out from the loading end and wheeledinto position at the exit or delivery end of the machine.

To unload the paper from the machine, the apparatus with its forks 38and 39 sufficiently spaced apart, is pivotally moved to position theforks 38 below the paper delivery shelf or paper receiver. The rack israised to lift the paperjust clear of the receiver, and then, theapparatus is moved away from the machine. With the stack of paperresting on the forks 38, the clamping couplings 27 and 28 are loosenedto allow the forks 39 to descend on the stack of paper. Then, the rackstop 42 is pivoted to extend to intercept the cross bar 36 toward thefront of the apparatus and the jack handle 59 is compressed to lift therack 22 and 24 until the rack 24 contacts the pivoted rack stop. Thejack handle is further compressed until a hard pressure is felt on thejack handle 59, signifying there is sufficient pressure on the stack ofpaper to hold it while it is turned over. Then, the compressioncouplings 27 and 28 are tightened, and with the paper secured in therack, the pressure at the jack is released to lower the racksufficiently to pivot the rotating rack stop 42, to the side.

In turning over the stack of paper, first, the locking pin 50, by meansof the chain 52, is pulled out from a locking hole in the main rackplates 26. With the locking pin pulled out from the locking hole, by onehand, the paper rack 18, with the free hand, is rotated until thelocking pin 50 can slide on the main plate 26 without being held out.The locking pin 50 will engage the opposing locking hole when the paperrack has been rotated 180. With the stack of paper turned over theprinting machine is loaded again in the same manner as described above.After the paper has been printed on both sides, the present apparatuscan be used to unload the paper and transfer it to be folded and bound,or stored.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus adapted for use with printing machines for loading,unloading and turning over a stack of paper,

a wheel mounted base adapted to be moved along the floor, a support andguide rod fixedly mounted on said base and extending upwardly therefrom,a sleeve slidably mounted on said support and guide rod, a housingextending about said sleeve and secured thereto for movement therewithalong said support and guide rod, a hydraulic jack mounted on said baseand extending in parallel relation with respect to said support andguide rod, a drive connection from said hydraulic jack to said sleevefor moving said sleeve along said support and guide rod, a rack carriedby said housing and including a plate pivoted to sand housingintermediate its ends for rotatable movement about a horizontal axisextending longitudinally of said base,

releasable locking means for holding said plate in position relative tosaid housing and accommodating pivotal movement thereof,

first and second pairs of spaced forks mounted on said plate foradjustable movement with respect to each other and spaced from oppositesides of said plate,

the first pair of forks being fixedly mounted on said plate and thesecond pair of forks being releasably mounted on said plate foradjustable movement toward and from said first-mentioned pair of forks,

clamping sleeves releasably clamping said second pair of forks to saidplate and releasing said forks to move toward or from said first pair offorks,

a stop movably mounted on said support and guide rod in position toengage said second pair of forks when they are in an upper position andupon upward movement thereof which will, when said clamping sleeves arereleased, compress a stack of paper between said first and second pairof forks, said second pair of forks coopcrating with said first pair offorks to enable the compressed stack of paper to be turned over uponclamping said clamping sleeves to retain said forks in position, movingsaid stop into a retracted position, releasing said locking means andmanual turning said rack to position the first pair of forks above thesecond pair of forks.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive connection 'from thehydraulic jack to the sleeve includes a clamping coupling on saidhydraulic jack adjustably movable therealong and adapted to be clampedin position on said hydraulic jack, and means operatively connectingsaid clamping coupling to said sleeve to move said sleeve along saidsupport and guide rod upon operation of said hydraulic jack and therebyeffect vertical movement of said rack.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, including a spring loaded lock pin carriedby said housing and biased into engagement with said plate and havinglocking engagement with said plate when in a normal or invertedposition.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, including a guide rod extending parallel tosaid support and guide rod, a sleeve movable along said guide rod, andmeans connecting said housing to said sleeve to move said sleeve uponvertical movement of said housing and to hold said housing from turningmovement relative to said support and guide rod.

1. In an apparatus adapted for use with printing machines for loading,unloading and turning over a stack of paper, a wheel mounted baseadapted to be moved along the floor, a support and guide rod fixedlymounted on said base and extending upwardly therefrom, a sleeve slidablymounted on said support and guide rod, a housing extending about saidsleeve and secured thereto for movement therewith along said support andguide rod, a hydraulic jack mounted on said base and extending inparallel relation with respect to said support and guide rod, a driveconnectiOn from said hydraulic jack to said sleeve for moving saidsleeve along said support and guide rod, a rack carried by said housingand including a plate pivoted to sand housing intermediate its ends forrotatable movement about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally ofsaid base, releasable locking means for holding said plate in positionrelative to said housing and accommodating pivotal movement thereof,first and second pairs of spaced forks mounted on said plate foradjustable movement with respect to each other and spaced from oppositesides of said plate, the first pair of forks being fixedly mounted onsaid plate and the second pair of forks being releasably mounted on saidplate for adjustable movement toward and from said firstmentioned pairof forks, clamping sleeves releasably clamping said second pair of forksto said plate and releasing said forks to move toward or from said firstpair of forks, a stop movably mounted on said support and guide rod inposition to engage said second pair of forks when they are in an upperposition and upon upward movement thereof which will, when said clampingsleeves are released, compress a stack of paper between said first andsecond pair of forks, said second pair of forks cooperating with saidfirst pair of forks to enable the compressed stack of paper to be turnedover upon clamping said clamping sleeves to retain said forks inposition, moving said stop into a retracted position, releasing saidlocking means and manual turning said rack to position the first pair offorks above the second pair of forks.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the drive connection from the hydraulic jack to the sleeveincludes a clamping coupling on said hydraulic jack adjustably movabletherealong and adapted to be clamped in position on said hydraulic jack,and means operatively connecting said clamping coupling to said sleeveto move said sleeve along said support and guide rod upon operation ofsaid hydraulic jack and thereby effect vertical movement of said rack.3. The apparatus of claim 2, including a spring loaded lock pin carriedby said housing and biased into engagement with said plate and havinglocking engagement with said plate when in a normal or invertedposition.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, including a guide rod extendingparallel to said support and guide rod, a sleeve movable along saidguide rod, and means connecting said housing to said sleeve to move saidsleeve upon vertical movement of said housing and to hold said housingfrom turning movement relative to said support and guide rod.